Kelly Slater produced a miraculous recovery to avoid a wipeout in Hawaii on Sunday. The 11-times former world champion surfer fell inside a barrel while competing at the season-ending Pipeline Masters event in Oahu, Hawaii. But Slater somehow managed to roll back on to his board and popped up into a standing position before squirting out of the barrel - much to the surprise of the American and those watching from the North Shore. Continue reading...

History repeated itself in the East Midlands as Manchester City sealed their passage into the Carabao Cup semi-finals via penalties and at the expense of Leicester for the second season running. Arijanet Muric, City’s 20-year-old Kosovan goalkeeper, was the hero, denying James Maddison and Caglar Soyuncu in a shootout that was not exactly a masterclass in the art of how to take a penalty.Christian Fuchs blazed his kick over the bar, Raheem Sterling fluffed his lines when attempting a Panenka and, without wishing to take too much credit away from Muric, both the penalties he saved were desperately poor. Continue reading...

Cronulla coach has until end of January to respondClub fined $800,000, half suspendedCronulla coach Shane Flanagan has been de-registered by the NRL for dealing with the club while suspended in 2014 and the Sharks fined $800,000 – half of which was suspended at the time over their supplements saga.Flanagan and the club have until the end of January to respond to a breach notice, which is when the NRL will make its final determination. Until then Flanagan cannot have any official involvement with the club. Continue reading...

His style at Manchester United has been defence-heavy and excitement-free but problems exist in all areas of the clubFarewell, then, José. It’s been fun. Or if not exactly fun then fitful, tedious and wreathed in a familiar sense of entropy. Either way José Mourinho’s abrupt departure from Manchester United on Tuesday morning completes a familiar three-year cycle of doomed hope, doomed decline and, by the end, simply doom.There was at least an inevitability about the end. It has been clear since the summer that Mourinho was preparing for this moment, using his public pronouncements to shift blame, distance himself from the squad of players assembled, and tend to the one element that really matters: his glorious but increasingly distant legacy. Continue reading...

The Old Trafford to-do list before a permanent manager comes must also include appointing a transfers expert Related: José Mourinho sacked by Manchester United after worst start in 28 years Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Paolo Bandini and Lars Sivertsen to discuss Spurs and Liverpool squeaking through in the Champions League, easy but great saves, Italian strife, Atlanta United and Street FighterJoin the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.We look back at the last few days of football, starting with Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at Camp Nou, which in combination with Inter’s draw with PSV was enough to see Mauricio Pochettino’s side qualify for the round of 16. Continue reading...